Things Change
by liketolaugh
Summary: Prince Soma was a prince. Prince Soma had a family. Prince Soma had a life before Agni, before Ciel... but he also had a life after. And they were so different that looking back, Soma could hardly believe that he was the same person. So far: Three oneshots of Soma's childhood and four about his first months with Agni.
1. Why Don't You See Me

**A/N: Kinda-sorta a request from a reviewer of Afraid, MahNameIsJack. Hope you like it, Jack, even if it may not be exactly what you had in mind. The first couple will be short, but others will be a lot longer.**

**Title: Things Change**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: Ciel/Elizabeth**

**Genre: Friendship/Family**

**Warnings: May contain violence in later chapters**

**Summary: Prince Soma led an odd life, but it only got stranger after he met Ciel. Prince Soma's life, from when he was little to after he met Ciel. Series of oneshots.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Black Butler is not mine.**

* * *

**Why Don't You See Me**

Five-year-old Soma peeked his head through the door, watching his father, sitting on his throne, talk to his eldest son, aura pulsing gently. He waited for just the right moment, when his father stopped talking to his eldest brother, and then darted into the throne room, tugging slightly on his father's pants leg. Maybe, maybe his father would look at him this time! Maybe he would even play with him!

"Father, Father!" he called hopefully. _Play with me, _he wanted to say. _Play with me!_

The man snorted and jerked his leg away, striding right along without even glancing down. His long strides quickly left short-legged Soma behind. It was as if he hadn't even noticed. He muttered something Soma couldn't hear.

"Why don't you see me?" whispered Soma.

He turned and stared down from one of the balconies at Meena, who was washing clothes in a basin. He beamed. She would see him! She always saw him! He laughed as he darted down the stairs and tugged on her arm, accidentally causing water to splash out of the basin and onto her.

"Play with me, Meena!" he laughed. He knew she would, she always did. "Play with me!"

He saw something dark and red flash through her dark pink aura before she smiled at him. "In a minute, Prince Soma. I need to finish washing your clothes first."

Soma pouted and stomped his foot. "No! Play with me _now, _Meena!"

Meena sighed and nodded. She had no choice now. "Yes, your highness." She would have to start all over when she got back, but Prince Soma would pester her until she played with him otherwise, and throw several fits in the process. Spoiled brat. "I'll play with you."

* * *

**Right, then. Very short, but I hope you liked it all the same. Wow, these are coming out faster than I thought. Hahaha! Please review!**


	2. Meena Loves Me More

**A/N: Okay, second chapter. This may not keep updating every day, but for now, I have quite a few chapters stored up, here...**

**Title: Things Change**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: Ciel/Elizabeth**

**Genre: Friendship/Family**

**Warnings: May contain violence in later chapters**

**Summary: Prince Soma led an odd life, but it only got stranger after he met Ciel. Prince Soma's life, from when he was little to after he met Ciel. Series of oneshots.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Black Butler is not mine.**

* * *

**Meena Loves Me More**

Nine-year-old Soma looked bitterly at his parents. They didn't love him, he realized that now. Or if they did, well, Meena loved him more. So he didn't love them, right? They didn't deserve it because they didn't even care about him.

Meena loved him more. So he should love her more. She cared about him, read him stories at night, took care of him, made sure he was well, nursed him when he was sick, gave him anything he asked for. His parents… they just ignored him.

Really! Most times they acted like he wasn't even there. Meena never did that, ever. She was everything to him, he didn't know what he would do without her. So she loved him more, didn't she? So he loved her more, too.

But… he couldn't seem to stop loving his parents, much as he tried to. Even though they ignored him, never looked at him or talked to him… he still found himself trying to make them proud. But they weren't. They never were. And they never would be, either.

Meena was, though. She would smile and nod and 'hm' and say "Really?" when he was telling her about something he did or saw or heard. She was paying attention, she listened. She would smile and go look when he wanted to show her something and exclaim over it with a big smile, even if her aura was kinda weird cause it always seemed to disagree with her words. She cared. So she must love him more. And he loved her more, too.

But he still loved his parents.

So why didn't his parents love him?

* * *

**Still really, really short. I promise that they'll start getting less depressing soon, cause that's the second sad one in a row... Anyway, please review!**


	3. Don't Go Outside

**A/N: Number three! I have this stored up, and then another that takes place later, but that's all. Luckily, I have a lot of free time during school (my classes are all SO SLOW) and I can write a lot then, so the updates for this shouldn't take long until I start running out of ideas.**

**Title: Things Change**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: Ciel/Elizabeth**

**Genre: Friendship/Family**

**Warnings: May contain violence in later chapters**

**Summary: Prince Soma led an odd life, but it only got stranger after he met Ciel. Prince Soma's life, from when he was little to after he met Ciel. Series of oneshots.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Black Butler is not mine.**

* * *

**Don't Go Outside**

Twelve-year-old Soma had never been outside the palace walls. He didn't really care, but Meena had told him not to go, that there were bad things out there. So he wanted to see them, naturally.

He snuck out of the palace at nighttime, when no one was awake but the guards, and wandered the palace grounds, looking for a ladder to help him climb the wall and go over. If he went out the gate, he would be seen, so he had to do that instead. It was only logical.

After an hour of wandering and finding nothing, he huffed. Fine, if he couldn't go outside the palace walls, he would stay in the gardens until he could. He stayed out for hours and hours, but finally he got hungry and gave up. There wasn't any food he could eat outside, anyway. It was all dirty and gross. He returned to the palace and found Meena wandering around with a slightly panicked frown. Her aura was flashing with grays and yellows. He nearly smiled. She had worried about him.

He ran up to her and smiled. "Here I am, Meena!"

Her aura flashed with something he didn't recognize and she grabbed his arm. "Prince Soma! Where have you been?"

"Outside," he replied, grinning at her.

"All on your own?"

He nodded proudly. He had made it out all by himself. She whispered in his ear, "Did you have fun?"

He nodded again, beaming. Sure, he hadn't done what he meant to do, but it had still been a lot of fun, hiding from people and knowing he wasn't supposed to be there.

"It'll be our little secret that you did, okay? A secret of your very own, does that sound nice?"

He beamed again and nodded once more. Even more fun! She let go of him with a sigh and gave an odd smile. "Good. Shall we get you to your room, then?"

* * *

**Okay, then. There you go. I hope you liked it! Remember, I tend to play to what people like, so if I don't get reviews things like this are less likely to get published. If you liked it, I want to know! If you hated it, I want to know why! Thanks for reading and please review!**


	4. Arshad to Agni

**A/N: Here we go. In the future, I might add more 'childhood' Soma moments, but for now I'm moving on.**

**Title: Things Change**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: Ciel/Elizabeth**

**Genre: Friendship/Family**

**Warnings: May contain violence in later chapters**

**Summary: Prince Soma led an odd life, but it only got stranger after he met Ciel. Prince Soma's life, from when he was little to after he met Ciel. Series of oneshots.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Black Butler is not mine.**

* * *

**Arshad to Agni**

Soma paused in his stride as he heard whispers. Normally he paid them no mind, but this was different. There wasn't just mindless chatter - this was _discussion__._

"They say he is as strong as a beast…"

"He's only a man…"

"He used to be a Brahmin, you know…"

"A criminal…"

Soma interrupted, looking between them. A Brahmin, turned bad? It wasn't unheard of, but it was rare. After all, Brahmins had lived good lives in the past, so they were almost always good people. "Who are you talking about?"

"A man called Arshad," one man told him. "He is an evil man, but he is strong. As strong as a beast. Stronger, maybe."

"And why has this been brought to attention?" asked Soma. "What has happened?"

"He's committed many crimes," another man said. "Thievery, beating, vandalism. He is a cruel man. They say he is to be executed tonight."

Soma nodded thoughtfully, and continued on. Not often was a Brahmin executed. But, as said, he had been good in his previous life; that meant that he could be taught. Soma would go and see this particular execution to see if he was worthy.

That night, he went to the execution ring and watched as a man with white hair was brought to the noose, slumped in defeat and with regret in his eyes. But that wasn't what caught his interest; many convicts later regretted what they did. Once they were in the execution block, that was.

No, what caught his attention was the man's aura; the innermost layer was shining a bright, clear gold, the layer above a beautiful yellow-green laced with turquoise, and above that his aura pulsed royal blue, laced with soft blue. And his aura was bright, vivid despite being struck through with tiny, thin black lines of past grievances and wrongs dealt, to and from him alike. This man could be a good man if he had the right guidance. In a split second, he made his decision.

He moved to the front of the crowd confidently. "You there!" he called. The man looked up dully. "They say you are a man with the strength of a beast. I am intrigued." He jumped onto the stand. If he was to give him a new life, he would need a new name, to remind him every day that he was a different man from before. Arshad didn't seem to suit him, anyway. He drew his machete and sliced through the noose, along with most of the man's hair. He grinned, machete casually slung over his shoulder. "The man you were is dead now!" he declared confidently. That cruel man that was spoken of would exist no longer. Soma would make sure of that. "You will be reborn, with a new name, and a new life!"

The man stared at him with wide, shocked eyes, eyes that burned with an inner strength. The right name came to Soma instantly. "Now, you are Agni."

* * *

**There you go. Was it okay? Was it too based on the scenes? Please let me know, I'm not too confident about this one and if it's bad I want to know so I can change it. Please review!**


	5. You Teach Me and I Teach You Part 1

**A/N: Here's this one. It was long, complicated, and difficult to manage. I felt like I was wrestling with the characters, seriously. And Agni is a good wrestler. Still, I hope this turned out well.**

**Title: Things Change**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: Ciel/Elizabeth**

**Genre: Friendship/Family**

**Warnings: May contain violence in later chapters**

**Summary: Prince Soma led an odd life, but it only got stranger after he met Ciel. Prince Soma's life, from when he was little to after he met Ciel. Series of oneshots.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Black Butler is not mine.**

* * *

**You Teach Me and I Teach You Part 1**

Arshad stood before the boy who had saved him, gaze cast to the ground. He was obviously of high status; in fact, Agni thought that he resembled the King of Bengal strongly. Why had he saved Arshad, a man who was unworthy to even lay eyes on him? No. Not Arshad. The boy had renamed him. Agni.

If the boy had not saved him, he would be dead. If the boy had not renamed him, he would be persecuted for the remainder of his life anyway. He owed the boy everything; from now on, if the boy said to do something, he would do it. It was far less than he owed him.

"So now, Agni," the boy started. "You will learn what it is like to be of a lower caste; you were a Brahmin, yes?"

Arsh- Agni nodded wordlessly.

"No longer," the boy declared. "You are now a Shudra; one of the working class. You will not be completely lowered; instead, you will live in my palace and serve me there." He tilted his head. "I have not introduced myself, have I?"

Arsha- Agni shook his head.

"I am Soma," the boy explained proudly. "Twenty-sixth son of the King of Bengal."

So he was of royalty, the King's own son. Ar- Agni bowed his head lower.

The boy took hold of his chin and tilted his head up so that he was forced to meet the prince's puzzled eyes. "Why do you not look at me, Agni?"

Agni forced himself not to resist. "I do not deserve to, my prince," he muttered.

"You are a new man. You are no longer Arshad, the cruel man who did cruel things. You are now Agni; you are reborn with a clean slate. As of yet, you have done nothing." Prince Soma released him, seemingly satisfied.

"My prince," Agni asked hesitantly. "Why... Why do you trust me so?"

"You are not a bad man, Agni," Prince Soma explained. "You did bad things, yes. But you are not a bad man."

Agni frowned. "I do not understand."

"I have faith, Agni," Prince Soma told him. "Faith that you can redeem yourself. The gods will make it so. You must believe that."

"I have no faith," Agni muttered.

"I will give you faith," Prince Soma replied firmly.

He sounded so confident that Arshad almost believed him.

* * *

There was a smashing sound and Ar- Agni growled, glaring at the piece of a shattered dish he still held in his hand. Then he heard a quiet chuckle behind him and flinched; his prince had seem him break the dish! What would he do? When Arshad's own servants had dared to so much as _crack _a dish, he had punished them harshly. And Arshad deserved no more.

"I take it you are still having trouble, Agni," the prince laughed.

A hand laid itself on his arm and he tensed. But the hand just pushed his arm down and he let Prince Soma push his hand to the counter and take the piece of shattered dish from him. But when the clearly _not _annoyed prince started to gather together the broken dish fragments, Agni protested.

"No, my prince! It is my mess and I must take care of it!"

"Do not worry, Agni," Prince Soma assured him. "It was quite an accident; you are not yet used to handling fragile things with your strength."

Agni knew that. Really, he did. But it was still his mess and his prince had no business cleaning it up. That was his job now!

But regardless, Prince Soma dumped the broken dish pieces into the bin and then picked up a rag and a broken dish.

"While you are still growing used to your strength," he started to explain. "Use persistence rather than pushing to remove a hard stain." He demonstrated by rubbing the cloth gently in circles on one of the stains, gradually clearing it away. He then passed the dish and the cloth to Agni, who tried to do the same, pressing as lightly as he could and rubbing the stain away in small circles. Or trying to.

Why was the stain not going away like it had for the prince? He growled at the defiant mark and pushed a little harder, trying to make it go away faster. The dish shattered.

Prince Soma just laughed.

* * *

Prince Soma unintentionally made a fool of himself, flopping down on his stomach in the dining hall. Sure, he had thought he was alone, but someone had seem him and was now laughing. He scowled at the man.

Arsh- Agni had seen him, too. "My prince, that is undignified! Please do not!" he protested, running over to Prince Soma and lifting him back onto his feet. Unfortunately, the cleaning servants had not yet reached that sections, and now his prince was dirty. Agni growled at the man, who paled as he recognized him and ran away.

Prince Soma pouted. "But Agni..."

"Prince Soma," Agni pleaded. "Please try to not be undignified unless you know that you are alone. People will see you as foolish otherwise!"

"It is hardly my fault that Father was always far too busy to ensure I was acting proper," frowned Soma.

Agni froze, looking at Prince Soma. "Your father never taught you?" he questioned.

Prince Soma shook his head. "Father was always far too busy," he repeated, looking annoyed.

Arshad- Agni looked over his prince, taking in for the first time the faintly too-relaxed look of his posture, the slight spread of his feet, the vague slump of his shoulders. No, this wouldn't do at all.

"My prince, if I may?" he said. Prince Soma nodded absently.

"Your shoulders," he started, gently trying to take hold of Soma's shoulders and moving them. "Are too slumped, my prince. People will think that you are unaware, too relaxed. Typically, they are held slightly up and back. Your back is also slumped; if you straighten up, people will take you more seriously and it will emphasize your height. Your feet are spread, making it look like you are ready to run or brace yourself."

As he spoke, he made minute adjustments to Prince Soma's posture, and, to his shock, Prince Soma seemed to be nodding thoughtfully. After he finished, Prince Soma said, "Thank you, Agni. I will try to remember all of that."

Agni smiled at him. "It is simply my duty, my prince."

* * *

"If you are going to fight," Arsha- Agni started, laying a hand on Prince Soma's shoulder gingerly. He relaxed a little when his prince did not object. "You need to stand firm. Unlike the formal, proper stance I have taught you before, this one is ready to battle. Your feet need to be apart, ready to move." He took a firm hold of Prince Soma's ankle, missing his wince above. He moved it a ways away from his other foot, into the beginnings of a battle stance. "Your hands and arms," he continued, not looking at Prince Soma's face. "Need to be slightly up, ready to either attack or defend." This time he moved his wrists, so that one hand was slightly above the other, arms bent into a fight-ready position. He continued along this line, moving Soma's body into a ready position and nodding in satisfaction when he had finished.

The next day, Agni went to adjust Prince Soma's stance again, and frowned at the dark spots on his wrists and ankles. "My prince, what has happened? Why are you bruised?"

To his confusion, Prince Soma just laughed. "You are strong, Agni," he told him. "Often you underestimate your strength. Do not worry; you will get better."

Arshad looked at him in confusion for a moment before realization dawned on him and he looked down, refusing to meet his prince's eyes. He had hurt the boy who had saved him. He had gripped too hard and had left marks on his prince, who did not even hold it against him. He did not deserve this boy.

* * *

Prince Soma looked around, finally admitting it. He did not know where he was.

Agni placed his hand on Prince Soma's arm, and the boy twisted to look at him, a light flush decorating his face. "My prince, are you lost?"

Prince Soma looked away and hesitated, then, finally, nodded.

Agni smiled. "It is okay. I know where we are. I will show you the way home, and then at another time I will show you around and you will not get lost again. Is that fine?"

Prince Soma turned to look again and smiled, still looking embarrassed. "That is fine, Agni. Show me the way home."

Agni smiled back and nodded, taking the lead, and before long they were back in the palace. Prince Soma was stunned at how well Arsh- Agni knew the way around town from a place he was certain he had never been before, and Agni was already thinking of the best and the most important places he would have to show his prince.

He would make sure that for everything Prince Soma taught him, he would teach something just as important to Prince Soma.

It was less than what his prince deserved, but it was the best that Arshad... no, Agni could give him.

* * *

**OK. Right. That was hard. I planned it out beforehand, but for once, the plan didn't help much. Since Agni said he once hurt many people, but he obviously had the potential for redemption, this is somewhat what I imagined him to have been like before. As for him having trouble managing his strength - it used to not matter when he broke things, right? Sometimes he was even trying to. But now, it does matter and he really doesn't want to, but that doesn't make him good at not breaking things. It was also very long, so what was originally going to be one long chapter turned into two, maybe three. I mean, this is already nearly twice the length of my standard chapters, but it's less than half of the whole thing. Finally, yes, I was intentionally switching between Arshad and Agni. It's from Agni's point of view, and don't you think it would be fairly difficult to grow accustomed to a new name? Please review!**


	6. You Teach Me and I Teach You Part 2

**A/N: Right, part two. Not as good as part one, but, hopefully, still okay.**

**Title: Things Change**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: Ciel/Elizabeth**

**Genre: Friendship/Family**

**Warnings: May contain violence in later chapters**

**Summary: Prince Soma led an odd life, but it only got stranger after he met Ciel. Prince Soma's life, from when he was little to after he met Ciel. Series of oneshots.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Black Butler is not mine.**

* * *

**You Teach Me and I Teach You Part 2**

Agni scrubbed at the dish and smiled when it was finished. It was white and sparkling, and, most importantly, not broken.

His Prince Soma came up behind him and he could practically _feel _the boy's smile. "Excellent, Agni. You did well."

Agni smiled at his prince. He loved it when Prince Soma told him he had done well; it made him feel proud, though he did not always think he was worthy of the boy's compliments. "Thank you, my prince, but I do not deserve your praise."

It may only be a mundane task, but it was still a vital one in his future, and it was a landmark moment for him. Arshad could never have done it; Arshad would have given up, perhaps not cared about the dish or even enjoyed breaking the dish. No, he was no longer Arshad, and the clean, unbroken dish was symbolic of this.

He had truly become Agni.

Prince Soma laughed. "Nonsense, Agni! I will give you praise where praise is due, and you have learned to control your strength, a great feat indeed."

"I am sure that I never could have done it without you, my prince," Agni told him. It was the prince who had given him the determination and the will to get it right; without him, he would have given up long ago, thrown the dish away because he could not have cared less then, most likely not have even tried in the first place.

Prince Soma gave him a confident grin. "I am certain that you could have if you tried, Agni."

Agni didn't think so, but he did not wish to argue with Prince Soma and he let the matter lie, still proud of his achievement, however minor it was.

* * *

Prince Soma remembered his mini-lessons with Agni. Shoulders back, feet together, back straight. The man nodded at him respectfully and they engaged in conversation.

Agni smiled at Prince Soma. Normally, though he was not certain the prince had noticed, the people he talked to talked slightly down at him, not respecting his position and definitely not respecting him. Now the prince made his authority known with the air of a natural and Agni was pleased that he would now receive the respect he definitely deserved.

Once the man left, bowing respectfully, Prince Soma turned to Agni and grinned. "Did you see that, Agni? He was respectful for once! Those lessons you gave me really helped!" His grin turned slightly bemused. "I never knew that the way I walked could make so much difference. Father never taught me that." He turned all the way around and smiled at Agni again. "But you did. Thank you, Agni."

Agni bowed his head slightly. "It was simply my duty, my prince. It was nothing that you would not have eventually learned."

Prince Soma laughed at the thought. He hadn't even realized its importance, let alone figured out what he was supposed to do. He shook his head but didn't disagree further. For now, he had gained respect from another, and that was enough for him.

* * *

Agni adjusted the prince's stance again and then glanced over his wrists and ankles. He smiled. "Your bruises have faded, Prince Soma." They had indeed dulled until they barely discolored his skin, and that was good. He didn't like to think of his prince being hurt.

Prince Soma shot him a grin. "Indeed they have, Agni. You have learned your strength well."

Agni sent him another, weaker smile. He did not like the thought that he had caused his prince injury, even by accident. "Thank you, my prince. I am glad that I am no longer hurting you."

Prince Soma laughed. "It was not bad, Agni, nor was it your fault. Like I said before, you were unused to it and only needed time. It is through your own patience and determination that you have learned gentleness, and I commend you for it." After all, the persistence Agni had shown was far more than he himself had, Soma thought a little bitterly.

Agni picked up on the hint of bitterness in his voice toward the end and frowned in concern. "My prince?"

Prince Soma put on another smile, a little too wide to be real. "It is nothing, Agni."

Agni wasn't sure, but he ignored the niggling doubt in favor of continuing to instruct Prince Soma.

* * *

This time, Prince Soma led Agni through the city, smiling as he went to the different places Agni had shown him. Agni smiled, following his confident strides. He had taken to the city paths like a duck to water, and Agni was proud.

"You have learned the paths excellently, my prince," Agni smiled.

Prince Soma, though, only shuffled a little, shrugging and giving him a half-grin. "Thank you, Agni. You taught me very well, after all, it would have been a difficult task to not learn them."

"I taught you the best I could," Agni replied humbly. "It was only right."

Prince Soma grinned, fully this time, and looked toward the front again, continuing on. "Some may think so, Agni, but others would say that you could have ignored it and allowed me to be lost. I am glad you taught me."

"I could not have done that," Agni responded confidently. "One such as you deserves better."

Prince Soma didn't know what to say to that, and so he said nothing, continuing silently.

* * *

**There's part two for you. Only one part of this left, then. I hope you all liked this chapter! Please review!**


	7. Life Lessons

**A/N: And, finally, the last part. It's a bit scattered, I think, along with a touch repetitive and a lot short, but it's alright. Nowhere near what the wait called for, though, and I am REALLY sorry about that!**

**Title: Things Change**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: Ciel/Elizabeth**

**Genre: Friendship/Family**

**Warnings: May contain violence in later chapters**

**Summary: Prince Soma led an odd life, but it only got stranger after he met Ciel. Prince Soma's life, from when he was little to after he met Ciel. Series of oneshots.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Black Butler is not mine.**

* * *

**Life Lessons**

"No, Agni," scowled Prince Soma. He coughed. "I want to go out!"

Agni, hovering in concern, receded a bit, bowing his head. "Jo aagyaa," he murmured. Prince Soma was sick, but it was his job to follow his prince's commands, was it not?

He believed so, but seeing Prince Soma walking with a slight sway and coughing every few minutes, flushed with heat, made him wonder. Nonetheless, he followed quietly, carefully not going above his station but keeping a closer eye than normal on Prince Soma as he went out to walk about the city again.

He stiffened as he saw Soma pause in the middle of the street. He edged forward as the boy swayed. "My prince?" he pressed hesitantly.

From his new position right beside Soma, he saw his suddenly unfocused eyes close. "Prince Soma!" he gasped as he lunged forward to catch the boy as his knees folded beneath him. "Prince Soma, are you all right?"

Why had he let it get this far? What kind of khansama was he when he had let his prince drive himself to that state? He berated himself for his foolishness and carelessness as he carefully and quickly carried Soma back to the palace, laying him on his bed and beginning to nurse him back to health.

When Prince Soma finally woke, he looked up at Agni and frowned. "Agni?" he muttered, confused. "What happened?"

"You collapsed," Agni explained softly, still berating himself. "My prince, I cannot allow you to put yourself in that state again. You could have been hurt."

Soma frowned again but sighed. "Fine, Agni," he mumbled, turning over and falling back asleep.

* * *

Prince Soma frowned thoughtfully and tried to explain again. "I believe that when they are truly needed, the gods will interfere. They will lower themselves and help people who need it, or give them a chance to prove themselves. They may be absent until then, but I believe that they _will _help when it really matters."

"But how?" Agni asked. He didn't understand, why put faith in such... _ideas? _They seemed completely insubstantial - merely wistful thoughts and hopes.

"I don't know. It depends on what someone needs, I suppose. If they need to lead them in a new direction, they will appear and lead them. If they need to make sure two people meet, they will. Even if they need to make sure that a murderer is killed or a war begun in order to make the world better, to take a chance, I believe that they will. That is the nature of the gods." Soma frowned, struggling to explain himself, _why _he believed, why Agni should believe in them, believe in their abilities and their actions and that they would help, too.

Agni's eyes widened as he took this in and connected with it. So, to people with faith, the gods could be what his prince was to him. His prince - so far above him - had lowered himself to help Agni. To give him a fresh start - exactly what he needed to be something good, something of any worth at all.

He had taken Agni, let him be better, taught him, made him new, made him special.

His Prince Soma had taken a chance - saving a cruel man like Arshad, and made him into what he was now.

Prince Soma was his god.

And if his god had faith in these beings of power, who was he to deny their existence and power?

* * *

**And that's the last one. It was harder than I expected, actually. A LOT harder. Please review! Also, I have more or less no ideas for future chapters (though I'm sure they'll come eventually) and so I'm totally open to suggestions on that front. But please respect the above pairing - there will be no Ciel/Sebastian and only a hint of Soma/Agni if it is so desired. OK? OK.**

**Edit: OK, that's a lie. I have one idea that I uncovered while rereading the sections of the manga containing Soma and Agni. Well, the sections I have, seeing as I don't have volume four yet. But I digress. Next up is Soma's POV of meeting Ciel. Yes, I'm totally skipping before that, because come on. Bleh! ANYWAY, and after that I might do some of Soma thinking about Ciel. In his 'big brother' kind of way, not the scared-of-him POV in Afraid. But I'm still open to ideas and, additionally, I should probably stop talking now.**


	8. The Runt

**A/N: Here you go! Sorry I left this alone so far. I don't have much to do today, which could either mean that nothing at all gets done or that I can take today to catch up. Hahaha. I'm hoping for the second, personally. Anyway, first part of their meeting. I have the fourth manga now! :D**

**Title: Things Change**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: Ciel/Elizabeth (eventually... I think)**

**Genre: Friendship/Family**

**Warnings: May contain violence in later chapters**

**Summary: Prince Soma led an odd life, but it only got stranger after he met Ciel. Prince Soma's life, from when he was little to after he met Ciel. Series of oneshots.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Black Butler is not mine.**

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Soma sighed, turning his head to look down a corner. "Do you see her, Agni?" he asked, worried. Where could she be?

"No," murmured Agni, sounding disconsolate. Soma wondered why, but he was preoccupied with worry about Meena.

She'd been taken, he knew. Taken by one of those _noblemen _without a word to anyone. She must be so frightened right now, and missing him as much as he missed her. His heart ached with longing, because he missed his childhood nursemaid so very _much._

He looked up as he heard a commotion up ahead. Some of the local Indian residents were clustered in a crowd, yelling. They seemed to be directed at a black-haired man in the center. But Soma had other things on his mind.

As he approached the group, he heard one man yell, "You trampled our nation under your shod feet! Now taste the humiliation of being plundered yourselves!"

Noting a pause in the shouting (cries of 'yeah' and 'taste' notwithstanding) Soma chose that moment to insert, "That aside, there's something I should like to ask you."

"Yeah! First off, I gotta ask you something!" the yelling man agreed.

Soma was rather puzzled by this reaction, as the man didn't seem to be the helpful type and was going about it all wrong if he was, but was nonetheless grateful for the aid. All the other people surrounding him seemed to also want to help – more shouts of 'yeah' followed it.

"If you prove useful, I'll treat you to something delicious in reward," Soma added, hoping for help.

"Yeah!" the man agreed. "Something delicious!"

Very helpful indeed. This crowd was extremely enthusiastic, calling out 'yeah' more times, and one person put in 'fish!'. Soma smiled.

Then, suddenly, the man looked confused. "DAH! That's isn't it!"

Oh. So he didn't want to help after all? That was a shame.

"Quiet down, you lot," Soma ordered them. If they weren't going to be helpful, he didn't want to listen to them. "I'm looking for someone. Have you seen an Indian like this?"

He held up his picture. It was like a photograph, so they'd know instantly if they'd seen her.

Unfortunately, all signs of helpfulness had left his fellow Indians, and the leader yelled at him very rudely. "Don't interrupt us, you cur!"

Soma frowned. "How dare you call me a cur. I am asking you a question." He suddenly noted the weapon shoved in his face and frowned again, ducking around the rude man. He looked over at the British man and realized he was dressed as a servants, while a boy he hadn't noticed before was beside him. "What's going on? Are you fighting a duel?"

The man scowled at him. "Hey, don't igno-"

"He has a khansama with him," Soma murmured, ignoring the man. He addressed the boy. "Are you a British nobleman?"

"And what if I am?" the vertically challenged boy demanded.

"Then I shall ally with my brothers in this battle," Soma replied confidently. "Agni!"

Agni was completely loyal to him; he would do anything he asked, and enjoy the task. He knew that Agni would never fail him, ever. "Defeat them!"

"Jo aagyaa," Agni acquiesced, unraveling the bandage from his hand. "This right hand, with which the goddess Kali has blessed me, shall I wield for my master."

Agni spared the briefest of moments to glare at the two nobles before springing. The butler only just managed to step aside, parrying Agni's strike. Soma was impressed. Very few could avoid Agni's blows.

The boy – Soma wondered why he was so small, and why he wore black cloth over his eye – was picked up by the man and he jumped back, avoiding another blow just in time. Soma frowned.

Strike after strike hit the man now, being only just pushed aside from hitting the man's face or anywhere on the boy. He did not cease moving, as Soma knew he full well should have.

One of the Indian men rushed toward the battle, roaring, "Don't you dare forget about us!"

The butler ducked a punch from Agni, which hit the man, knocking him unconscious with the single blow.

"Forgive me, brother!" Agni cried, then turned aside to resume his assault.

Another rain of blows came down on the butler, but he kept moving with the same swiftness as before. Finally, Agni drew to a halt. "I have struck your marma numerous times," he growled. "So why can you still move? Normally, your arm would be paralyzed by now."

The boy started struggling in the butler's arms, and then to yell at Agni. "Hey! We were just passing through when those Indians picked a fight with us! Are all Indians barbarians who indiscriminately attack any Englishman they lay their eyes on?"

While indignation filled him at the pipsqueak's insult, he was far more concerned with what he had said that his brothers had done. "What?" he frowned, turning to them. "You there!" he called. "Did you attack the runt and his companion without a valid reason?"

"Hunh?" one of them mumbled, as if the idea was inconceivable. "Reason?"

Soma scowled. "We can't have that!" he huffed. "The fool is he who wages war without cause." That was something Meena had told him, and he remembered it well. "Agni!"

Agni looked at him, ready for instruction.

"In this case, our brothers are at fault!" Soma declared. "Ally with the runt and company!"

"Jo aagyaa!" Agni agreed.

Soma was proud as he watched Agni take down the crude Indians with ease. He had saved the runt! Excellent!

Minutes later, Agni was atop the pile of Indians, smiling brightly. "It is done, my prince!"

"Good!" Soma replied.

He bent down to pick up the pipsqueak's hat, which had fallen away when Agni had gone after them. "You're not hurt?" he asked, slightly concerned.

"N-no…" the man muttered, answering for both of them.

"And you, runt," Soma continued, plopping the hat down on his head. "A child should not be wandering around in a place like this. It's dangerous." No place for someone as small as that boy, he could get hurt. "I'm still on the hunt for someone, so I'll be taking my leave." He turned away, sweeping off with Agni right beside him, as he always was. "Farewell."

After all, he still had to find Meena.

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**AND there you go. So the next part of that _will _be up... eventually. I don't actually know when... :/ Well, anyway, I hope you liked that. Please review!**


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